


Fiction is my favorite genre

by Ink_stained_quills



Category: Boko no Hero Academia
Genre: Baby’s first fic, Izochako, More characters to come, Multi, T for Bakugo’s potty mouth tbh, bakushima, cant promise anything tho, childhood friends switch up, i just really liked the fantasy au ok, is it just fantasy, is this the real life, kiribaku, promise things I leave out are resolved later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 23:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21757675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_stained_quills/pseuds/Ink_stained_quills
Summary: After Uraraka Ochako’s parents sent her to live in Mycrelo, she forged a bond with its inhabitants. However, when her friend’s lives are threatened, the young witch will have to venture into the lost center of magic - and and find a certain freckled boy along the way.
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou, Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako
Comments: 5
Kudos: 17





	1. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This fic is beta’d by a wonderful person who does not have AO3, but if that changes I’ll link them here... More relationships will probably be added in, I’m still deciding on what those might be, ha.
> 
> Song: (Kiribaku) Start a Riot by Banners  
> Song: (Izochako) Tiptoes by Jayme Dee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alternately titled: The Increasingly Cryptic Prologue

Prologue

You can’t leave once you enter the forest.

It’s a simple truth, but it’s proven to be one that ensnares adventurers, tricks skeptics and scares all the village children but for the foolhardy. The foolish children who wander into the woods, looking for a flower or a story or, for some, an end.

For that’s what the forest does, doesn’t it? End things like the bright flare of a young life, or the livelihood of a closed off community.

That’s what the forest was before, a place where the men could hunt and the women wash their laundry, the children spending lazy days in the dappled shade. That was before - modern times have seen the beginning of cars and trains and expansion through the woodlands, and the legends have faded into obscurity for most.

Most does not include the village of Mycrelo, with their elders keeping traditional tales of spirts alive and their children claiming they see mythical creatures at every turn. The young men and women publicly scorn such beliefs, but come festival time partygoers always seem to have their skirts longer and hair respectfully tied back, shoes tied to prevent malicious spirits from playing tricks.

They are the ones with salt on their windows and honey on their tongues, the ones who claim the firelight as their own to create shadowy renditions of the folk tales they know so well.

The children scamper and believe unconditionally, then grow to be teens and doubt again. Those same teens delve back into their spiritual upbringing after time in the city, coming back as young men and women to teach their own children their country’s traditions. After many years, they become elders, watching the youngest with their wide eyes, the older ones with their skeptical looks, and their own children with their knowing smiles.

For these people see the forest for what it is.

Of course, that’s not always a safe thing - sometimes the village inhabitants wonder if it’d be safer to have lost The Sight, forgotten how to see the sprites like everyone else. But then they wouldn’t be Mycrelo, would they?

Their village is nestled into a valley, with run down roads (“They do their jobs!”) and overgrown flora (“You’d think we’d get more botanists, hmm?” “Four is plenty for such a tiny community, nana.” “There’s always room for more plants.”). Those passing through might question how they’re still a fairly prosperous town, but they can’t See what Mycrelons can - and who can blame them?

They can ignore the brownies with their riddles and sweet thieving, the elemental spirits causing storms, the hearth pixies taking up chimney space. To be fair, ignore implies willful intent... and the people of modern times have simply lost the abilities that used to be commonplace.

Some would say Mycrelo is a preserved wonder, and it is! But wonder goes both ways, and at some point something turns dark - the shadows stretch longer and seem to tug at the lamps. The water laps up the unsuspecting feet and whisk the inhabitants out to sea. Fire sheds containment and nips at frozen fingers.

And, of course, there’s the forest.

The people here aren’t always... people. They look mostly human, to be sure, but the inhabitants tend to be less carbon based and more centered in mythology. You can see it, even if you can’t See it.

You can see it in the way neighbors with dragon ancestors puff out clouds of breath in winter that look less like steam and more like smoke, See it when the ones with enough power spread their wings.

You can see it when the old woman with nature spirit blood running through her veins makes a plant grow in almost barren soil, See the way vines seem to wrap around her feet like stubborn arms.

You can see it, during the thunderstorms, when a mother will hold her child close - “It’s grandfather,” she tells the boy, “saying hello.” And his eyes light from the storm, though lightning hasn’t yet struck.

You can see it, but we, Mycrelo’s inhabitants do not say, can See it.

Chapter 1

Uraraka Ochako has lived her whole life in Mycrelo. She’s never been anywhere else (though her friend Mina insists Tokyo’s worth a visit) and she’s never really wanted to. After all, where else would she go? She’s got a nice after school job, with the botanists and the chemists, which lets her experiment plenty if not to her hearts content.

Whenever this comes up, Mina again insists (something she does a lot, insisting) that the outside world is “Worth a shot, Ochako! Come on, Tsuyu goes to visit her family back in the city every summer!”

“Don’t remind me,” Uraraka always groans. “It’s more dangerous when Tsuyu isn’t here.”

Mins just shoots her that trademark grin, likes she’s full pixie instead of one quarter. “More fun, you mean.”

The rosy cheeked girl simply nods, acknowledging the truth of that statement, and gives the same reply she always does: “When we graduate. When it’s time for us to leave the village, I’ll go with you.”

It’s unspoken that she plans to come back.

~~~

“Hope you won’t miss me too much this summer, kero. We’ve only got another week before I’m sent away - then it’ll be two months of city time for me.” Uraraka is jolted from her daydreaming by the teasing of her friend, Asui.

Flushing, she put her hands to her cheeks in embarrassment. “Tsuyu!”

The frog nixie simply laughs and flicks at the other girl’s hands. “Careful, Ochako. We don’t want you floating off into space, do we?”

Uraraka shakes her head, embarrassed but determined to control her power. “Ahh, right. Controlling gravity isn’t quite as useful when you’re outside the planet’s reach!” Carefully, she removes the pads of her fingers from her cheeks. As long as she has five fingers on any object (or person for that matter) her witch training can’t seem to cancel out her inherent magic.

Head freshly cleared, the enthusiastic young witch jumps to her feet. “Hey, have you seen Bakugou?”

“Mm, can’t say I have, kero.” The green haired girl tilts her head, tongue pressed between her lips in thought. “Have you tried Kirishima? He usually knows.”

Fidgeting with her staff, Uraraka looks around the empty street as if she’ll find the explosive mage. “No, I think he’s got dragon things to do with his dad.”

“Ah,” Tsuyu murmurs as if that’s a sufficient explanation. For Asui, it probably is. “Well, lets go look. Why do you need him, anyhow?”

“He’s slacking on his group training.” Uraraka scowls, thinking of all the work they’ll have to make up from her friend skipping class. “We graduate to Third Year magic users as a team, or not at all!”

Her friend just smiles softly. “I’m sure he knows that. You know how much importance he puts on classes and his abilities - I think not graduating to Third Year would crush him as much as you.”

Sighing, Uraraka bobs her head in a nod. “I know. I just... worry sometimes. About our coven, and Bakugou himself.”

“Bakugou can take care of himself. Go find him, I’m sure he’ll be yelling about something and being rude. Reassuring, kero.”

Tsuyu waves goodbye and sets off in the opposite direction, probably going off to remind each of their friends how much time they’ve got until she leaves. Uraraka can already hear their responses; they react the same way every year.

(Mina’s shocked and demands to come too, Jiro accepts it and hands over the road trip cd she’s completed for this very purpose, and Iida gives her a lecture about travel safety the frog nixie doesn’t need.)

This leaves the young witch with two choices: go practice her spell casting (she should do that anyways) or look for her best friend (though he won’t admit it, she’s known him for so long it’s undeniable to everyone else).

If Kirishima’s off doing ‘dragon stuff’, and I’ve been in the town center for ages, he’s probably practicing himself into exhaustion, Uraraka thinks to herself. I’d better go check on him.

Wandering into the forest is dangerous for anyone, but witches have protected a clearing near the edge for ages - a spot that the woods don’t swallow up. Uraraka doesn’t quite believe that it’s because the forest likes them, but... she isn’t naive enough to completely rule it out. Witches are second only to nature spirits in their love of the natural world, and perhaps the woods can tell.

Of course, Bakugou uses the area to explode things, so perhaps she’s not exactly right.

“Katsuki Bakugou!” He’s standing in the center of the clearing, shirt off to display his tattoos. Uraraka’s gotten used to them over the years, but the sheer amount on a sixteen year old startles newcomers if he doesn’t have sleeves.

They’re beautiful, signifying all sorts of things - one for their First Year graduation, one for their Second (that’s the one he tried to convince everyone they should get, too. However, Uraraka’s weak stomach wouldn’t allow her to willingly induce that much pain and Shinsou simply refused, claiming that he’d “love to get a symbol of their coven, but as a half siren I think it’d take away from my allure. Don’t you agree?” When Bakugou had snorted derisively in response, Shinsou had merely used his siren hypnosis to mind control the explosive witch). (Being half witch and half siren had its allure.)

He’s also got a tattoo that matches Kirishima’s, something he stubbornly claims is a symbol of ‘that one time I beat him in a duel’. Uraraka’s never heard the full story, she just remembers the two boys coming back bloody and beaten, somehow tied together in a way they’ve since tried to understand.

That’s another point of contention, the magic bond between those two - as part of her coven, Bakugou’s souls being tied to someone else’s had lit up her magic like a match. Neither will explain exactly what happened, and the girl witch knows better than to ask.

That hasn’t stopped her from doing research (her best friend’s soul is tied, she’s going to want to know about it!), but she hasn’t found much besides the fact that they’re now bonded for life.

The bond has three conditions:  
They can’t be separated too far for too long. (Problematic, sometimes.)  
They can sometimes read each other’s emotions. (Both are too dense for this to be a problem, really. A few late night conversations have shown Uraraka that Bakugou’s still worried.)  
And if one dies, the other - this isn’t clear, but she thinks it’s either they both die or... well. The other faces a fate worse than death.

Finding a way to break it won’t be easy, and Uraraka isn’t even sure it’s possible, but they’re determined to do it anyways. ... as soon as she finds a mage who can break it.

“Bakugou,” she repeats, “how long have you been here?”

He shrugs.

“Baku.”

“Ugh, not too long, round face.” His fingers twitch, and he stares off into the distance for a long moment before Uraraka floats herself over to him.

“I’m glad you’re practicing, but be careful. You know...” she whispers, “you know pushing yourself isn’t going to bring him back, right?”

“Don’t care, anyway.” He says gruffly, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants and turning back toward the forest.

Uraraka smacks him on the back, levitating her friend into the air.

“Oi!”

“Nope!” She uses a sing song tone (is it masking her concern? Probably not, he knows her too well) and flicks her wrist forward, tugging him in the direction of the village. “We’re having a discussion.”

“No, we aren’t - let me down, Uraraka, I swear -“ He’s flailing in midair, though he knows by now it’s no use.

She can’t help feeling a bit proud - after all, it’s not just anyone who can keep Bakugou Katsuki off his feet. “Listen, Bakugou. Here are the rules.”

“Fuck you.”

“Vulgar.” She doesn’t pause. “We’re having this discussion, or I will make this a coven matter. Technically, it should have been a coven matter from the start.”

The boy stills in his struggling for a moment, red eyes staring down at her. “You wouldn’t.”

Flashing him her sweetest smile, Uraraka continues towing him into town. “Wouldn’t I?”

“Shit,” he whispers, and lets her pull him into their dorm sections.

~~~

The dorms have been Uraraka’s home for the past ten years, as her parents live in another village largely not blessed with the Sight. When she’d developed her powers, they’d sent her to Mycrelo so that she could master them.

From there, she’d met her coven - Shinsou Hitoshi and Bakugou Katsuki. Bakugou had been surprisingly easy to win over, deciding they were friends as soon as she’d flipped him into the air in one of their first training rounds. Shinsou had been a process of grudging respect, learning boundaries and knowing when to carefully edge past them, and now all three were thick as thieves (well, Bakugou and Uraraka more so, but Shinsou knows them inside and out all the same).

Shinsou, Uraraka, Bakugou and Kirishima aren’t the only ones who know about the magic bond, but they’re the only ones privy to the details and that’s the way they intend to keep it. Uraraka knows she and Shinsou were only involved because their bond (also magical, but not in the same way) as a coven could have been affected.

Their teachers know, as do the elders and their parents. Dragon and human lore have been consulted, but to no avail. (She’d know, as she’s spent many sleepless nights trying to figure it out.)

~~~

“Covens,” their instructor tells them, “are formed with magic but preserved by friendship.”

Six year old Uraraka, surrounded by strangers but for the two boys sitting through the lesson with her, is fascinated and terrified by the idea.

“Ha!” The blond one with scary red eyes - Bakugou? Kaachan seems too familiar - snorts, making her jump. “It’s just a way to share power. My mom told me about it.”

The purple haired, tired looking boy their age (she thinks his name is Shinsou) shakes his head, looking like he’d rather be doing anything than talking to them. “‘S not all it is.”

Laughing, their teacher flicks her shoulder length green hair as she tosses back her head. Adjusting her bandana (why is it covered with smiley faces, Uraraka wonders), she nods. “Yes, it’s a way to enchanted one another’s power. But you’ll also be great friends and allies.”

She doesn’t understand much at age six, but she remembers the rules by the end of the year:

Protect your coven.  
Enhance powers carefully.  
If not with anyone else, stay honest with each other.

The last one’s very important, as lies and mistrust can tear a coven bond apart. It’s not confining, but the thread that always joins the three seems comforting in times of stress. And, of course, the telepathy’s cool too.

~~~

It’s not really telepathy, it’s the way they’ve known each other for so long and understand each other so well. Still, Uraraka can do this: she plucks at the thread binding them together, calling Shinsou to them.

“Dammit, Uraraka.” She’s let Bakugou drop to summon the third member of their coven, allowing him a moment to run before the bond tugs him back.

Chuckling softly, she flops onto her bed to wait. “We’re here for ya, buddy.” He shakes his head, trying and failing to suppress the smile only brought out by his oldest friends. Still, he’s irritated (she can feel it, if she concentrates hard - that’s something else, if one of them is in danger or pain, the other two will feel it).

“I know you don’t like this part.”

He growls, rolling his eyes at the wall. “Damn right, squirrel cheeks.”

“Sweat monster.” She retorts.

“Baby face.”

“Explododweeb.”

“Actually, Uraraka,” Shinsou interrupts, slipping through the door, “I think you mean -“

Bakugou lets out a strangled moan, something like no and curse your perfect memory, tiny purple Aizawa as Uraraka laughs, remembering a nickname from their past -

“King Explosion Murder.” Finishes the purple hair boy, smirking.

“It was a phase,” the other teen moans, “let it die or I will kill you.”

“Please, lord!” For the love of magic, Uraraka’s cackling as Shinsou teases the explosive boy, but she can’t stop! “Don’t kill me with your explodokills!”

Bakugou eyes her white carpeting as if debating running his muddy feet over it. “Don’t even try, Baku.” She warns, wagging her finger.

“What is it, anyway?” Shinsou settles into her desk chair. “I was getting advice that could’ve helped us on the practical test from Aizawa sensei -“

“Having father son bonding time.”

“Give it a rest, Bakugou.” Shinsou tells him, but doesn’t put any venom in it. It’s been a running joke since age eight, and it’ll carry on for as long as he claims he’s isn’t Aizawa’s kid (they know the truth).

Uraraka feels her smile sink as she remembers why they’re here - it had felt so good to sink into the feeling of being together, like the two missing parts of her soul were reunited with the rest of her. “The curse -“

“Has already been discussed a million times. We’ve exhausted the possibilities.” Bakugou snaps, eyes straying to a picture above Uraraka’s desk. It’s one of many - in this one, Shinsou’s on her left, flashing a rare, warm smile. By comparison, Bakugou’s grin looks positively feral on Uraraka’s right. She herself is smiling slightly fiercely at the camera, all three of them feeling the high of becoming First Year witches.

Thirteen wasn’t a bad year for us, she thinks, then shakes her head. To avoid answering, she lets her gaze wander over the other pictures. Tsuyu, Mina and Jiro are swimming in one, splashing the camera (thank goodness she’d enchanted the camera to be waterproof beforehand). In another, she and Iida stand facing the camera. His left arm is cut out of the picture as she sticks out her tongue, one eyes squinted closed.

There’s one of her parents, arms wrapped around a five year old Uraraka. She only looks at it when she’s truly emotional - enough to need comfort from a 2d image, or to think that they’d be proud if they could see her now.

Knowing they were defenders of a large area of Tokyo, the witch can’t help but think that they’d chosen their work over their daughter, sometimes.

But they’re gone now, and it doesn’t matter. (She tells herself it doesn’t matter.) Guardians have dangerous jobs. They made their choice. Right now, she’s making hers.

“We haven’t exhausted all the solutions.” She says voice barely above a whisper. The boys’ heads turn toward her, and she clears her throat, proud when her voice doesn’t shake on the next words. “We should leave Mycrelo.

“We should find the center of magic.”

“That’s suicide!” Shinsou yelps. “For one thing, we’d have to cross through the forest to leave -“

“Afraid of a few trees?” Bakugou growls.

“- for another, we don’t even know if the center existed anymore. That city’s been part of our lore for as long as we can remember. As long as the elders can remember.”

The blond barks a laugh. “Sounds like a challenge, then.”

Shinsou glares at them both. “You’re too reckless.”

“We have to.” The female witch stands her ground, fingers digging into her blanket. “I... found out something new.”

Both boys look at her, tensely waiting. Uraraka gulps. “If you two hit your seventeenth birthdays with the curse still active - it’ll never be broken.” Hesitating, she adds the most crucial piece of information. “You’ll probably die.”

The air is sucked out of the room for a second, no magic required.

For a member of a coven to die - especially those tied together for so long - would be to tear a piece of their souls from the other two.

Bakugou let out a shaky breath. “I’ll get Shitty Hair and we’ll leave tomorrow.”

“Okay.” It hits her, then. She’s leaving the village - her home of ten years, protector for an eternity. “Okay, I’ll pack.”

“Dumbasses.” Shinsou shoves the chair violently out from under him, rubbing the back of his neck. “We need maps, and supplies -“

Blinking at them, Bakugou clenches his fists. “You don’t have to come. I can do it without you - I’m only bringing Kirishima because the goddamn bond won’t let me go on my own.”

“Not gonna happen.” The other two chorus, not even pausing.

Uraraka rolls her eyes. “You’d think after being in our coven for ten years, you’d be able to accept help.”

Flushing angrily, he stomps out of the room. “Pack efficiently!”

“Yes, mom!” Shinsou calls after his retreating back. He nods at Uraraka. “I’m going to go do some research. I’ll flip through the elder’s texts - maybe there’s some kind of map in there.”

She nods, nervous but determined. “Alright. What’ll we tell the others?”

“Some variation of the truth.” He eyes her. “Are you going to be alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” she insists, “just -“

“Take a nap,” he orders, and she realizes too late he’s lacing his voice with siren song. “You’ve pulled too many all-nighters trying to figure this out, instead of letting us help you.”

“I... wanted to do it.” She mumbles, drowsiness loosening her tongue. “I’m not that powerful, so I...”

Shinsou smiles fondly down at her as her eyes drift shut. “After telling our resident King Explosion Murder about the powers of teamwork? Hypocrisy, Ura. You know we love you like a sister.”

She’s fairly certain he thinks she won’t remember this when she wakes up, which is the only reason he’s telling her this. Between the three of them, she’s the only one to really say she cares. “... get you for this.”

“I know.” He closes the door softly behind him, crossing the hall to get to his room. Lulled to sleep by the soft sounds of pages turning, Uraraka lets herself dream of something other than the dangerous adventure ahead of her coven.

I’ll protect you, she thinks.

All of you.

~~~

The sound of water fills Uraraka’s ears as she opens her eyes. She’s standing in a rainforest, multicolored birds flirting around the trees and lush green vines sprouting from the ground.

There’s a river somewhere near here, she thinks, then: Where is here?

Certainly not the woodlands surrounding Mycrelo, the air in this forest is so humid that you feel that you could drink it. Still, she doesn’t feel too bothered, which is odd. She feels something like a tug on the string of her coven bond, and yet - not the same at all.

Even so, she heeds the summons and walks further into the rainforest. There’s someone here, calling to her, and the only thought she can keep in her head is I’m coming.

Levitating herself over a stream, Uraraka hears rustling in the bushes - then a voice. “Bro. My dude, Sero, this magical dream thing had better be worth all the mosquito bites I’m getting.”

“Kaminari, my man, it’s always worth it.” A boy with bright yellow hair and another with a huge smile burst through the trees, chattering. The witch quickly hides herself in the bushes, calling the ferns to cover up her pink clothes. “Plandaí, teacht.” Plants, come.

Another boy pokes his head out of the trees, shaggy green head of hair somehow clashing with and perfectly matching the forest all at once. He’s got freckles spanning his face that look like the stars, Uraraka idly thinks, then abruptly snaps out of it to focus on the more important things.

First of all, she’s in a ‘magical dream’. She’s heard of this in her classes, something about prophets? She’s not sure what the purpose of such a dream is, or why she’s here if she isn’t part of their group. The three boys on the forest floor all seem to know each other, and Uraraka feels out of place and confused.

She’s not one to be unfriendly or distrusting, but the girl decides to wait another few moments before revealing herself. Tuning back into their conversation, she tried to remain perfectly still and wait for an opening.

“- still so much we don’t know about your powers, Sero! Imagine if we could learn everything prophets are capable of! Wasn’t there a prophet guardian who predicted the dragon extinction? Granted, he wasn’t completely right, but it came close for a bit - ah, I’m rambling again! Sorry.” The freckled boy flings his arms over his face in embarrassment.

Chucking, Sero flings an arm over the other boys shoulders. “You’re fine, Midoriya! Man, you really know your guardian lore, huh? I never get used to it.”

“Yeah, how do you fit all that info into your head?” Kaminari laughs. “It’s like information retaining is your power.”

“You just say that because you can’t remember anything, Kami.”

“Sero! Why would you betray me like this?” Laughing, the two boys mock fight as Midoriya looks around the forest - catching eyes with Uraraka. She jolts back as his eyes glow green, energy sparks cascading off his body.

“Show yourself!” He demands.

Letting the spell slip away, Uraraka steps out of the bushes. Sero shrieks, latching onto Kaminari, who shocks him and leaves them both slightly stunned. Midoriya sighs.

“Um, sorry to trespass?” Biting her lip, the witch holds out her staff non threateningly. “I just heard you talking, and I wanted to know what was going on.”

The three relax, Sero rubbing his arm to wipe away lingering static cling. “Good to know,” he says doubtfully, “but we don’t even know who you are.”

“Or how you got into our dream!” Kaminari jumps in. “It’s very rude, trespassing in someone else’s dreams.”

Letting out a squeak, Uraraka stammers an explication. “Ah! Sorry, I just don’t know how I got in her either, and I didn’t know what was going on, Uraraka.”

“No,” Kaminari says, “I’m Kaminari. That’s Sero and Midoriya - are you okay?”

She flushes. “No, I’m Uraraka.”

“Nice to meet you, Uraraka!” Midoriya smiles openly, making her heart do treacherously fluttery things in her chest.

“I shouldn’t be here, anyway.” Uraraka glances around as if she can find a way out. “I’ve got to do research, find a map to the center of magic -“

“The center of magic?” Sero exclaims. “Didn’t the city disappear centuries ago? Besides, the danger would be huge for such a journey.”

She closes her eyes for a long moment. “Well, I’ve got an important reason.” Bakugou and Kirishima’s faces flash through her mind, rooting her to the present. “I’ve gotta go.”

Sero nods. “I’ll cut you loose from the dream.”

The green haired boy jolts at this, stirred from his mutterings about the lost city. “Wait - couldn’t the center of magic solve our kingdom's problem as well?”

“Midoriya!” Kaminari hisses. “Don’t talk about that around outsiders!”

Still, Midoriya’s not to be deterred that easily. “We could work together.” He insists. “Four heads are better than three.”

“Seven.” Uraraka jumps in. “I’m bringing my coven.”

“A witch coven?” Sero raises his eyebrows, impressed. “Huh. Explains the plant magic. And they would be helpful, Kami.”

Kaminari gives her one last look before sighing. “Alright, I give in. It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just...”

“I get it.” Uraraka tells him. “I’d be cautious too - we’ve just met, after all.”

“Then it’s settled!” Midoriya says. “Where are you from?”

“Mycrelo.” She tells them, relishing their gasps. She’s well aware that her village is known throughout the supernatural community as one of the most magic concentrated places in Japan. “Can you make it soon?”

They nod. “We’re right by it actually. We can get there by tomorrow if we hurry.”

Kaminari smacks Midoriya (who seems to be their unofficial leader) in the shoulder. “Dude. We’re passing by Mycrelo and we weren’t going to stop?”

The freckle boy shrugs, embarrassed. Sero shakes his head in mock disappointment. “They have dragons, Midori. Actual dragons.”

Uraraka laughs. “I can’t wait until you guys meet Kirishima.”

“Is he a dragon?” Three pairs of sparkling eyes land on her, and she steps back.

Sorry, Kiri, she thinks. Looks like you’re going to have a fan club for our journey. Then she winces. The one we signed you up for without your knowledge...

“I’ve got to go!” She says again, ready to pull herself out of the dream.

“Noooo...” Sero whines. “I need to know, Uraraka!”

But it’s too late. She’s already calling magic to her fingertips, to her tongue and to her wand. “Dúisigh!” Wake up!

She opens her eyes with a start, covered in blankets on her dorm bed. Exhaling, she allows herself to smile at the memory of her three new travel companions - and if most of the memory has Midoriya’s bright smile, that’s no one’s business but her own.


	2. Leaving Isn’t Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the main gang’s all here! But will leaving the forest be as easy as they think?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I’m... so sorry? This is kinda short but I’ve gotten derailed with the Haikyuu!! Model AU and the Falling Lights series, so ^ - ^
> 
> I’ve got midterms and play auditions coming up, so things are going to get busy for me!
> 
> I’m probably gonna take a pause in order to finish those, but I fully intend to come back to it. I love you all!
> 
> Thanks again to my wonderful, accountless beta reader - you are the best!
> 
> Song: Kiribaku - Fourth of July by Fall Out Boy  
> Izuchako - Bubbly by Colbie Caillat

“Let me get this straight,” Shinsou says skeptically, “you accidentally stumbled into someone else’s prophetic dream.”

Uraraka bites her lip. “Well, when you say it like that...”

The two of them are packing her bag, waiting for Bakugou in her room. He’s gone off to find Kirishima (hopefully he’s back from his dragon exploits - it’s not like he can go too far without Bakugou, anyway). However, she’s starting to regret talking to Shinsou without the third member of their coven around, plus Kirishima... now she’s got to explain it twice.

“But they’ll be here today.” She insists. “And if they aren’t, we’ll know it wasn’t magic.”

I really hope it was real, she thinks. I hope he was real.

Still, the girl witch is pretty sure it was real - conjuring up characters like Kaminari and Sero seems too unrealistic. Uraraka puts a spare cloak into her bag, searching for her bottle of fennel. You’d be surprised how many spells require fennel.

“Hey, do you have any-“

“Got my herb kit inside my pack.” Shinsou nods. “You guys should have one of those too, you know.”

Grinning cheekily, she zips up her bag. “Why should we, when you do it for us?”

The boy good naturedly mumbles “I won’t be around forever, you know.” and Uraraka feels a tug on their bond’s thread. Their emotions - all three of the coven - are in sync for one brief moment, showing their apprehension for the journey ahead. She can feel Shinsou’s worry and Bakugou’s twitchy powerlessness, combining with her own panic over leaving the village.

She wonders when outside Mycrelo became synonymous with danger.

Probably after the deaths of her parents.

Shoving the thoughts and negative emotions aside, she forces hope and excitement into the bond until she can feel their turbulent feelings ease. Gratitude flows from the boy next to her, and Uraraka’s fairly certain she catches a hint of grudging thanks from Bakugou before he snaps the connection.

She and Shinsou jolt, and she pushes herself to her feet and crosses to her desk. Letting her hand pass over the pictures, Uraraka stops the pads of her fingers over her parent’s faces, then down to the picture of her coven.

Her past and present families. After losing the first, she’s not going to let anything happen to her second.

The witch pushes herself away from the wall and touches her bag, activating her power to float it along behind her. “Let’s go, tie dye Aizawa! We’ve got people to meet, friends to save and a center of magic to discover.”

“It’s never gonna die, is it.” Shinsou sighs.

“Nah.”

~~~

They’re waiting in the middle of the square when Bakugou and Kirishima come bursting in, panting something about a race.

“And did you win?” Uraraka teases Kirishima, the red headed boy’s teeth sharper than she remembers. “Hey, you might want to fix up your teeth. Remember, humans don’t have vampire mouths.”

“Right, right!” He runs his tongue over his teeth and smooths them out. “Thanks, Uraraka!”

“He didn’t win.” Bakugou huffs, straightening up.

“Of course not,” Shinsou deadpans. “You never lose.”

“Well, I don’t.” Bakugou snaps.

Snickering, the witch whispers to Shinsou, “And what does Baku win?”

Rising to her bait, the boy mutters “Kirishima’s heart?” in return.

“Hah?” Bakugou rounds on them, glaring as if he doesn’t know what they said but is ready to whack them over it nevertheless.

“Nothing!” Uraraka sings, patting the explosive boy on the shoulder. “I hope you’re both packed and ready to go?”

They nod. “I explained the situation on the way here.”

They all fall silent for a moment, but their contemplation is interrupted when the blond lets out a shout. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

“Actually...” the girl winces.

~~~

“They better show up,” Bakugou sulks. “or I’ll leave without ‘em.”

“They said they’d be here today if they hurried, and I think we should give them more time.”

“It’s been an hour, Uraraka.” Kirishima rationalizes. “We’ve packed, got a map -“

“That’s not a map, that’s a scary paper with vague markings -“

“Thank you, Shinsou. It’s almost three o'clock and people are going to get suspicious.”

Uraraka sighs. “I know. Can - can we give them more time? Just fifteen more minutes.”

The dragon boy’s eyes soften. “Yeah. A little more time.”

~~~

Fifteen minutes later, he turns to her with a sympathetic smile. “Uraraka...”

“I know.” Turning away, she hikes her bag up on her shoulders. Then -

“Wait!”

Uraraka whirls around, eyes alight with hope. Three boys come tearing into the square.

They stop in front of her group, wheezing. “H-hey, Uraraka.”

“Hey, Kaminari.” She can’t help herself, letting out a laugh of relief. “We were about to leave without you guys!”

“It’s not like we’ve ever been punctual.” Sero agrees.

Midoriya offers a shy wave. “Hello, Uraraka-San!”

“Oh, geez, no!” The girl flushes, waving her hands. “Just Uraraka is fine!”

“In that case, you can call me Deku!” His easy smile sinks into her bones, making them both blush.

“Ah, yes,” Kaminari leans on Sero’s shoulder. “Midoriya’s dream girl has arrived.”

“Technically, she’s my dream girl.” The prophet jokes, “Since I was the one to create the dream.”

Shinsou’s stiffening slightly, Kirishima looks confused, and Bakugou -

“Hey!” The electric blond points to Uraraka’s friends. “Which one of you is the dragon?”

Reaching his limit, Bakugou explodes.

~~~

“I don’t like them.” Bakugou hisses to Uraraka as she paces along the path.

“You don’t like anybody, except maybe us.”

“Well,” the boy responds, “I don’t like them more.” Almost as an afterthought he adds, “And who said I liked you two?”

In the background, Uraraka can hear Kirishima talking to Sero and Kaminari, who seem to have bonded almost immediately with her friend. Shinsou and Midoriya walk behind them. Shinsou seems to be answering questions about how his siren song worked, and she could only hope the enthusiasm of Midoriya couldn’t drag out any coven secrets.

That left her striding at the front alongside Bakugou, whose paces were long and temper short. “You know,” she begins, “Kirishima’s not going to like them better than you after an hour of traveling.”

His ears flush pink. “I wasn’t worried, Round Face! Shitty Hair can talk to whoever he wants, I’m not his keeper.”

Uraraka makes a noncommittal mm sound and flicks her staff, repeating the path finding spell. “Aimsigh an cosán!” She can hear soft oohing from the non witches, and she can’t help feeling a flicker of pride. Shinsou was best at charm magic, Bakugou knows all the destructive spells but she knows all the basics, practiced to perfection until she could cast them in her sleep. Repetition cancelled out panic.

“Hey, Shinsou, come show me the map!” She calls to the back of the group. Both boys hurry up to the front, gesturing at the paper and charting courses. Uraraka laughs at the irritated glare Bakugou shoots the green haired boy, falling back to sullenly walk beside Kirishima.

Quickly initiated into the group, he’s got the dragon shifter draped over his shoulders while the other two pepper him with questions about his power, what a coven’s like, how much he must sweat to create those huge explosions, dude, don’t you get super gross during warm weather?

“Do you hate it, like it’s hard to control your power in summer?” Kaminari prods, sparks trickling off his body.

Bakugou grins, a predatory smirk in place. “Summer’s the best.”

Nodding wisely, Sero runs his chin. “One would say you think summer’s... the bomb?”

“Fucking Pikachu, shut the hell up!”

“Bakugou!” Kirishima scolds, “I told you not to say stuff like that!”

Laughing to herself, Uraraka turns her attention back to the map in front of her. She and Shinsou now have the hard job: puzzling out how to get to the center of magic.

And getting through the forest.

“Hey, Uraraka!” Bakugou calls. “Did Broccoli Head help you figure out a path yet, or is he as useless as he seems?”

“Bakugou!”

Midoriya flushes with embarrassment, turning back to the map. “S-sorry. I’ve never worked with witches before, or tried to find the lost center - but I’ll try harder!”

“No, no,” the girl reassures him, “he’s like that with everyone. Don’t take it personally, it’s just... well, I can’t say it’s part of his charm...”

“Don’t think he has any charm.” Shinsou mumbles.

“Hah?” The blond calls from the back, before the other three tackle him into submission.

Midoriya pales. “Oh dear.”

“They’re alright for now.” Uraraka tells him, waving her hand dismissively, “and you’re doing just fine.”

“We still need a way out of the forest.” Shinsou reminds them.

“We’ll use the trading path.” The freckled boy chips in. The two witches stare at him. “What?”

“The... trading path.” Uraraka mumbles. “We - yes, the trading path we absolutely remembered...”

“I told you we should have checked the non-magical maps!” The other boy hisses to her as Midoriya looks on awkwardly.

Sulking, she raises her wand to cast the spell. “I could’ve helped if you’d let me stay awake.”

“You needed sleep.”

“You don’t sleep.”

“... I’m different.”

“You’re fueled by energy boost spells and nothing else,” the girl teases, ignoring his quiet murmurs of “The traders call it coffee.”

Privately, Uraraka wonders if the forest will let them leave. After all, she’s taking three witches and a dragon shifter along the path, not to mention three outsiders - a prophet, someone with some kind of electricity power? And...

“Hey, Kaminari.” She calls over her shoulder. “How do you do - the sparks?”

His eyes flicker like they’re lighting up from the inside. “Oh, I can do more than spark.”

“Not here.” Sero shoves him forward. “We need you at full brainpower to get through this forest, limited though it may be.”

“Hey!”

“Kaminari’s a quarter storm elemental.” Midoriya tells the group. “He’s pretty powerful despite being more than half human, actually.”

The energetic boy smirks.

“Unfortunately,” Midoriya continues, “his control isn’t the best. It’s kind of a last resort shockwave.”

“Ouch.”

“What can you do, Cabbage Hair.” Bakugou states it like an accusation, not a question, and Uraraka’s again briefly concerned that the whole trip is going to be them sniping at each other.

Strangely enough, Midoriya looks off to the side, staring into the distance cryptically. “Ah... nothing much.”

“Nothing much?” Sero laughs incredulously. “You’ve got, like, super strength and speed. There’s no rational reason a full human can do what you do.”

“Breaks all my limbs.” The boy sighs.

Snickering in the background, Kaminari pauses in convincing Kirishima to carry him as a dragon to snipe at his friend. “Your power is bone hurting juice.”

“Is that a thing?” Midoriya asks curiously.

“How have you two not corrupted Deku by now?” Uraraka shakes her head, grinning as she follows the spell. “Turn left here, we should get to the main path soon.”

Sero glances forward. “How do you know where we’re going?”

The spell floats in the air, leaving pink trails going in the right direction visible only to her. More than that, there’s a feeling she gets as a spell caster that tells her where to go. “It’s... a witch thing.” She answers lamely.

Shinsou frowns. “I can’t do it well.”

“That’s cause you don’t practice.” Bakugou yells from the back.

“You can’t do it well either!”

“We’ve got Uraraka to do it, and you two don’t know all the destructive spells!”

“Not every spell has to end in explosions.” Uraraka tells him.

Unfazed, Bakugou grins. “The good ones do.”

“What do prophets do, anyway?” Asks Uraraka.

Sero flashes her a smile. “Predict the future -“

“When your power feels like it.” Snarks Kaminari.

“- make my eyes glow all cool, and I can spiritually communicate with people! And animals, sometimes.” The boy finishes.

“That sucked.”

“Stop knocking my power, dude!” Sero frowns. “Although the constant begging for food didn’t help. I had to learn how to channel, turn it off.”

The witches nod, recalling how difficult it was to control their powers when they first came in. Kirishima shrugs: as a dragon shifter, he was born with his powers. They’re as natural as breathing to him - for basic maneuvers, at least.

Then Uraraka feels something wrapping around her ankle. She looks down, spots a vine tugging her - but only for a second, as in the next she’s been yanked upside down and shoved against a tree.

“Uraraka!” Bakugou calls, then lets out a shout as vines of his own attempt to restrain him, cursing all the while. “Fucking forest!”

Shinsou tries to grab for his spell pouch, but a root tendril whisks it from his hands. His siren song has no effect on the plants, who slam him into Kaminari and bind them back to back.

Sero tugs knives from his belt that are quickly whisked away, Midoriya punching and kicking at tree branches as they end are him. “Kaminari!” he cries. “Let loose!”

“I can’t!” the elemental yells back. “This close to Shinsou, I could seriously hurt him!”

The plants drag them along, struggling with Kirishima as he shifts into his dragon form, snapping his binds. He bites at the forest, winning until he accidentally snaps at a flower that puts you to sleep. In a few moments, he’s collapsed.

“Kirishima!” Bakugou yells. “Shinsou! Uraraka - even shitty Deku and his groupies? Damn it, this is why I use the destructive spells!” He blasts through the forest, but Kirishima’s drugged state is affecting him. Uraraka can see he’s slowing.

Wriggling in her bonds, she tries to reach her staff from where she dropped it a few feet away. She’s got two inches - one inch - Kirishima’s tail twitches in his sleep and flicks it out of reach again.

Damn it, Kiri! she thinks. But then there’s no time for thinking - the forest’s roots trip Bakugou and wrap him extra soundly, dragging all seven teens deeper into the heart of the forest. Sero claws at the ground, struggling forward for a brief moment, then hits his head on a rock and goes still.

Kaminari whimpers at this, releasing a small shock, and Shinsou jots. “Ouch!”

Mind a flurry of panic, Uraraka thinks hard. Kaminari’s not an option, unless they want to kill Shinsou. Bakugou, Kirishima and Sero are unconscious - and who knew what other side affects the drugged plant has. Midoriya - she glances to the side, sees his eyes glow with green light.

They could escape - but why not see what the forest had in store, instead of wasting energy? It’d be twenty times harder to carry two unconscious people and one dead to the world dragon out as dead weight.

(Uraraka really needs to stop thinking the word dead, ignore how pale Sero looked, push away the thought that she’s gotten them into this.)

Summoning all her strength, she calls on the coven bond to broadcast all seven a thought:

*Let’s let the forest take us.*

Mental protests resound from those left awake, and Uraraka hurries to follow it up.

*Let’s let the forest take us*, she repeats, *and then we can rid Mycrelo of - whatever’s causing this. We needed to pass through it anyway, right? Now we’re going in the right direction - I can still see the spell.*

Midoriya’s thoughts brushed against hers. They felt green - reassuring, bold, yet anxious.

*I agree with Uraraka*, he thinks.

She smiles at him gratefully, letting the emotion radiate through the group as the others responded.

*Yeah*, Kaminari nods, *makes sense. I don’t wanna have to drag my bro Sero all the way there.*

He felt yellow, electric and crackling, energetic and loyal.

Shinsou was purple; a comforting familiarity that felt like a hand on her back, steadying her when she was about to fall.

*I agree as well*, he thinks at the group. Then, just to her: *you got this. ... I hope you know what you’re doing, Ura.*

Uraraka lets her pink float over, tingly and sweet, a hug that wrapped around your neck. (She’d weaseled out what she felt like in a coven exercise long ago. Read: staying up late and annoying them into it.)

*I hope so too*, she tells him, *I hope so.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: socially-acceptable-username

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone actually read this, let me say THANK YOU! You are fabulous and have the patience of a saint
> 
> Edit// tumblr: socially-acceptable-username


End file.
